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The review was reasonable and gave that persons subjective impressions. However most of the comments are extreme.

I would strongly suggest that Apple has a good history of implementing good function WITH good form. OS X is largely an example of this. Certainly they have had some partial and complete misses as well. Also mice are very subjective and NO mouse will feel right for everybody. I have found that in evaluating new Apple products that Apple puts a lot of thought and effort into their designs (hardware and software) and in order to evaluate a new product or idea you need to use it with an open mind for at least a week. Often you find that it is actually a big improvement, sometimes not.

Anyway my two bits. Note that I am a longtime Mac user but have LONG since gone to using two button mice exclusively. I am picky (like most power users) and really like the feel of MS mice.

1) The trackball works great and has a nice feel. Horizontal scrolling works much better in Cocoa native applications.

2) I don't have problems with missing right clicks but I don't leave my finger resting in the mouse. (Just dumb luck.)

3) The side buttons are better thought out than it seems. You only have to press one and the buttons are placed so the users thumb should naturally lie over one of the buttons such that they can activate it with just the thumb and counter pressure from wherever their other fingers naturally lie.

3) Their are lots of little touches and evidence careful thought:

- The side buttons take a fair amount of pressure so you don't press them accidently while moving the mouse. When the mouse is picked up they require even more pressure to activate than they do when the mouse is not being held to help prevent accidental activation, but they can still be activated with adequate pressure.

- The scroll ball requires a little pressure to activate to prevent incidental movement from your finger brushing it but requires enough pressure to depress the mouse casing to active its button feature to allow scrolling without pressing that button by accident (not that other mice have problems with this either)

- For most (all?) buttons a quick click will act normally but a click->hold->release will toggle the linked function. For example with the default behavior of having the scroll ball button activate dashboard just clicking it normally brings up dashboard, but clicking and holding brings out dashboard and then closes it when you release.

My overall impression.

A very good mouse. The trackball is great, better than the MS mice scroll wheel (although they are very nice as well). I think the side buttons are awkward but I feel that way about ALL side buttons on mice.

Although the cord is perfect for use with Apple keyboards, it is too short otherwise. I wish they had included an extender. (I note that the new MacBook Pros have USB ports on both sides.) I personally like the size and shape of the larger MS mouse better.

The Apple mice (and most other mice) are a little small for me. Others I know think the opposite. Apple should IMHO add the ability to map a key combination to a button as part if its standard preferences. I think this would greatly expand the flexibility for a number of users without overly complicating the interface.

This mouse is not perfect (nothing ever is) and not for everybody. However Apple is trying to re-think this, at least a little, and it is going to take some experimenting and some revisions. To those people who actually say 'Two button mice are already good enough and Apple is stupid to attempt to improve on it' I say this: The difference between Apple and the others is Apple understanding of how wrong that thinking is.

First of all... I'm from Argentina, so please excuse me if my english is too bad ;)
I've readed the article, all the comments and even tried the mouse (on an apple reseller near my home) but didn't buy it, i have a MX500 thas is very good and the "mighty" is too for my buck... 1 dollar = 3 pesos :(
But I think it's very important for Apple the double functionality (1-button or 2-button) just look at this page: http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=444">http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=444, there are a lot of people who still wants a 1 button mouse from Apple (I have a few in my family), and this means that apple is thinking in it as the possible next "apple mouse" (the one who ships with macs)... possibly with "MacIntels"? So it would be nice to see it in all new Macs. Even better, you will have the Apple Pro Mouse... perhaps THIS is the mouse you are looking for (the one who wants Anand) at least, this is the beginning. Reply

Nice review. I haven't used the Mightly Mouse in person yet...
- Just to be clear for those who don't know, you can use 3rd party two button mice on Macs. The first page of the review wasn't totally clear on that I thought.
- The article mentions a lack of control for how many lines are scrolled yet also mentions the slow/fast scrolling setting. Is there a difference? The beef really seems to be that the "fast" setting isn't fast enough. This should be built in but there is a program called USB Overdrive that many use to adjust mouse speed settings beyond what is built in.
- I love the shape of Apple mice. Where the side buttons are now there used to be panels that you would grip to pickup up the mouse and move it since every where else on the mouse is essentially part of the main button. So using those panels as buttons makes a lot of sense to me. They obviously can't be seperate buttons because they are directly opposite each other and pushing one would mean pushing the other. So you end up with 4 buttons instead of 5 but I think it's a fine trade-off to keep the excellent existing shape/form and single button/multi-button versatility.
- Other reviews have said you only have to push one of the side buttons, not both at once.
- The track ball looks very cool to me as opposed to the bulkier scroll wheel that has resistant clicks on my current MS Intellimouse.
- I have used multi-button and single button mice with my Mac back and forth. For a while, I went back to using a single button mouse but had to go back to a multi-button because of World of Warcraft. That game just isn't designed very well for a single button mouse. I'm very sympathetic to the Application Design argument for single button mice. Mac users are mostly fine with single button mice because using a single button is no big deal. Contextual menus are merely convenience. On Windows, too often the only way to do something is to right click.
- The one thing I am dissappointed with is the having to lift up your left finger to right click. I notice I mostly lift up my left finger anyway... but even if I don't just 1% of the time... it will be annoying. Reply

Apple has created something truly innovative with the Mighty Mouse: a single piece of hardware that can function as a 1-button mouse or a 2-button mouse. Personally (as a Mac power user), I find this to be brilliant. I can use the mouse in 2-button mode, while my wife, child, and any other user who prefers the 1-button mode can use that.

In the many comments I've seen posted about the Mighty Mouse, I note one thing: those people who don't see any value in a 1-button mouse to begin with, don't see anything noteworthy about a mouse that can be 1-button or 2-button. ("1-button mice suck! Who cares if the mouse works in 1-button mode. Just give it 2-buttons and be done!") Those people who _do_ see the value of a 1-button mouse (better usability, encourages better application design, easier for average/inexperienced users to use) see a lot of value in a dual function mouse. You can have your cake and eat it too.

On an unrelated note, in your section on "Ergonomics," you should note that the Mighty Mouse (and all of Apple's mice, for that matter) work equally well for right-handed and left-handed users. The other mice you compare it to work only for right-handed users. That is certainly an ergonomic plus. Reply

quote:On an unrelated note, in your section on "Ergonomics," you should note that the Mighty Mouse (and all of Apple's mice, for that matter) work equally well for right-handed and left-handed users. The other mice you compare it to work only for right-handed users. That is certainly an ergonomic plus.

Ergonimics has very little to do with that, but all how it fits to your hand with minimal strain. You just can't make better ergonomics for mice that can be used by left or right hand. In other words you have to make compromises. When the mouse is perfecly fitted to left/right hand it's pretty much better than the "hybrid" ;)

Only ~10% of the humans are left-handed. It's quite big compromise. But again those are who should get that mouse. ;) Reply

I don't think that I could stand anything less than 5 anymore. I mean, 4 buttons? You mean I have to give up a function? NO!

Oh well... I have never understood Apple's hardware anyway. The only thing that they made that was better than anyone else was the Apple Cinema displays, ant that may even be eclipsed by the Dell monitors entirely soon, even though they are in certain aspects already.

I don't think the mouse is the only one with small balls. There is a difference between Professional and just being plain tame. This is a horrible, horrible product that is sure to annoy more than just gamers and PC-switch users.

I say pass the Apple product reviews on to a reviewer which hasn't been recently bitten with the Apple worm. It's only fair I think. Reply

Logitech or microsoft are not perfectly ergonomic and do not fit many people's hands, however they are infinately more ergonomic than this attempt by apple.

Why can't apple just put two buttons on the top of their mouse??? The bottom-clicking mechanism is an overly complicated way for a mouse to work and causes alot more accidental clicks in my experience. Reply

By the content of most of the comments here, it seems you have a lot of people who feel very threatened by the Mighty Mouse.

It seems Anand's review was very objective. He pointed out the mouse's good features as well as the bad features. In the end, he basically stated the mouse is certainly appropriate for some people (like Apple Pro Mouse users) but not so great for others (gamers and hardcore multi-button mousers). Yet, a lot of people seem to be very threatened by this seemingly sensible language with comments like, "This proves the mouse sucks!" or "Apple is all style, no function!" when it's clear most of the people posting have not used the mouse, do not have an open mind, and do not even care to have an open mind about it.

I've tried the mouse. The mouse isn't perfect, but it's perfectly good enough for most Mac users and probably a lot of less experienced Windows users. It feels comfortable to my hands and is thus "ergonomic" for my needs. Considering most companies slap the term "ergonomic" as nothing more than a marketing label to make consumers think they are getting "ergonomic" without really explaining why their product is so "ergonomic" (like the marketing guy that Dilbert needles by explaining what he means by "paradigm"), it seems to me the only definition of ergonomic is something that doesn't cause you discomfort or pain after use. And that, it seems, is a very personal thing rather than Microsoft, Logitech, or Apple telling me that their mouse is "ergonomic."

That being said, for every comment of "It's amazing how much Apple can get people to pay for useless style", you can always find someone who feels threatened by the idea that there are many people out there who find that Apple products work for them just fine.

The bottom line? Some users will love Might Mouse because it works well for them. Many other will not like it one bit. But everyone would benefit from the discontinuation of inane and childish mentality of "I think the mouse sucks and you are getting ripped off if you buy because I hate it and I know better than you and you should use what I think is better because Apple sucks." Nuff said. Reply

I don't feel threatened by apple's products. It just seems arrogant to me that a company would forsake ergonomics and functionality just to be "different". Granted, I don't actually know why apple chose this design, but from Anand's reactions to the product, I can't see any other reason why someone would want to buy it. Reply

Well, I think this mouse sucks. I also thought the "hockey puck" mouse sucked on the old imacs. I don't think they make the old hockey puck mouse, because, well, it sucked. This one seems way to easy to miss the clicks. The market will show how long this mouse lasts in its current form. I bet it won't go over all that well. Reply

It seems to me that this mouse was created for the type of people that move the mouse over the icon and then pick up their hand and click with one finger. You know the same people that type with one finger, probably the same finger that they click the mouse with. I often think that Apple does not take their customers seriously, and makes systems designed for the lest common denominator. This is a shame because they often have really interesting ideas, and I would like to be able to get a system that does not look like it was designed for a 14 year old's room like the all plastic 'ninja' cases or a warehouse (flat metal case, beige case.) Reply

Mind you, I'm not bellyaching for the sake of bellyaching. This is a case where I really think Apple has sacrificed usability in order to achieve aesthetic elegance.

I totally wouldn't be surprised if prolonged use of this mouse didn't cause significant musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) due to the unnatural way you have to manipulate your hand in order to use the mouse. Quite seriously, I expect users of this mouse to enjoy the pleasures of Tennis Elbow -- and they probably won't even realize it's the mouse which is causing it.

This mouse is a failure in the sense that in order to use it, you have to do unnatural things with your hand. Yes, you can "get used to it" but that's hardly any reason to excuse it's flawed implementation.

>> You should not have to physically lift one finger in order to click with another.
>> You should not have to pinch with your thumb and pinky in order to use the side buttons. Hello thumb button!
>> Moreover, you should not have to reposition your entire hand in order to use the side buttons.
>> You should not have to apply pressure to the trackball in order to use it. That's just unnecessary strain.
>> When using the trackball, you should not have to repeatedly move your fingers in a contorted manner (while exerting a slight amount of downward pressure) just to get to the other side of the document. Anand has me thinking the "high scroll rate" isn't all that high a rate.

On a side note, what happens when you click the trackball when either of your fingers is resting on the mouse? Do you have to physically remove your fingers from the left and right "buttons" in order to get a trackball click? Reply

Great article. I'm pretty interested in one of these mice as my current MS IntelliMouse is getting a little long-in-the-tooth and could best be used with my old PC these days. Since I'm going to be in London in a couple of weeks I'll stop in at the Apple Store there and see if I can play with one for a bit. Gaming isn't something that I do very much these days so that aspect shouldn't be a problem, so if it feels comfortable and the scrollball works well for me then I'll probably buy one (assuming that I can persuade the wife...).

Anyway, a great summary of the features and it definitely highlights the need to "try before you buy". Reply

What I got from this article: The mouse sucks, but we don't want to offend the mac people so we'll be very very nice about saying it. I have no idea why anyone would buy this after seeing this or any other review on the web. Reply

Well, it's important to know that the prospective users of this mouse are not reserved to users of multi-button mouses, but also users of the one-button Apple Pro Mouse - which are, believe it or not, the majority of Mac users. Us PC users who've all our lives used multi-button mouses most certainly do not know the perspective of someone who's exclusively used one-button mouses. Anand emphasized his subjectivity on this matter, and rightly conceded that in many cases he could not speak universally on certain features. He wasn't writing this review just for PC users, but Apple Pro Mouse+Mac users.

Why is Apple going to extreme lengths to be different and sacrifices usability for that? Are they afraid of being compared to (superior) products and thus hide behind fancy gimmicks nobody really needs or wants? Reply

I was asking the same thing myself. The basic three-button mouse with scroll wheel works fabulously, and if you can't improve on that or even come close, don't bother. But that's the weird cultish power of Apple. Because it's different it must be better, and because it's Apple it must be better. Even when it isn't.

Even Anand falls for it to some degree. Cracked up reading his lapse into battered wife syndrome:

quote:Something had to be wrong, no company would release such a blunder of a mouse; and of course something was wrong, my pesky index finger.

"It's my own fault, I brought it on myself!" A PC user buys a crappy mouse and says "This thing is a piece of junk," throws it out and buys one that works right. An Apple user buys a crappy Mighty Mouse and says "There must be something wrong with ME!" Too funny. Reply

My thougths exactly, WHY! Just make it two buttons and be normal. I wonder how much money they spent in engineering this stupid gimicky crap. If I was an investor I would be pulling all my stock out today. Reply

I think you're wrong here. "Everything they make are flashy toys with no real functionality behind it", is just plain wrong. It's a common accusation that Apple are all form over function, but it just ain't true. The majority of Apple product offer form and function.

However, in this particular case, the stupidly named Mighty Mouse, Apple have produced a lemon. For all the reasons the review mentions. For the 'battered wife' syndrome mentioned in a comment below, and probably a whole lot more.

I've been thinking about getting a multi-button mouse for a while, but it's not been a priority. Unlike a lot of Mac people, I think properly designed context sensitive menus are fabulous - as long at they're contextual, and not just a bunch of unrelated crap. So I was ready to jump on this thing. Given two products that are essentially equal, I'd go for the Apple one, even if it was a few quid more. Simply because they usually make good stuff that's easy to use. I'm not buying this thing though. I've thought about it, and I think this review is being a bit soft on Apple. This mouse is over-engineered. It solves a problem of Apple's own invention: "Make a two button mouse with no apparent buttons", when the real job spec should have been "Make a bloody good comfortable multi-button mouse that's better than anything from Logitech or Microsoft".

I don't think I will have any problem with this. I usually lift my index finger and put it on the scroll wheel when I rightclick anyways. It is very easy to adapt to a mouse. Once, my right click button wasn't working, and my leftclick button always doubleclicked, so I set my scroll wheel as the left click and hte left click as the right click. Took me 3 days, but I conquered it like a pro. After a bit of practice, it can feel very natural....

After saying all of that, I'm not buying that mouse. I'd rather plunge on a mx with that pricetag.... Reply

Also another thing to point out, this article was alot more interesting than the 7800GTX series. I was dissapointed when I saw that the article for today was the VGA card, but the mighty mouse article caught me totally by surprise! Reply

There's even less chance of me buying one of those mice, than there is of me buying a Mac (which is roughly zero); but I must agree it was more interesting than reading another 7800GTX review.

Lots of individual reviews of $500 cards only a tiny fraction of your visitors will be buying in the next few months is crazy, just do a roundup in a month or two where you can highlight the differences between all the samples you received. It reminds me of the ultra-high end memory reviews that were posted every week or two. For what it's worth I ended up buying high-performance memory but not any of the sticks you reviewed because you only looked at 512MB modules, and a pair of 1GB sticks is a far better investment these days. Reply

Sounds like you use your middle finger for right clicking, which is weird to me. I use index for the left button, middle finger for scrolling, and my ring finger for right clicking, while my thumb and pinky glide the mouse around with delicate precision. Reply

I use my middle finger to right click as well... Must be because I used a two-button mouse (back before the times of the wheel ^^) for the longest time, and having the middle finger on the right button made sense. Reply

Everyone does it differently... I use my thumb for the back and forward buttons, index for left button, middle for scroll wheel/middle button, and fourth for right button. On occasion, though, my middle finger can work its way over to the right button, but that doesn't usually last long. :) Reply

I don't care what Apple can do with a mouse. As long as they make it look cute, its going to be horrible to use. Anyone remember the wonderful mouse that came with the original i-macs? It was shapped like a hockey puck and about the same size. I wound up grabbing it sideways most often(since it felt the same in your hand). The 'no button' mice are almost as bad as I drag through most windows with those. Personnaly, they would need to add back/forward buttons too, since I have gotten used to those almost as much as my scroll wheel. Reply

Thanks anandtech, you just saved me $52. I ordered the mighty mouse as soon as I got word of this device, but then read your review and quickly cancelled it online just now.

A one button 'two button' mouse? non-ergonomically placed middle squeeze buttons that is really only one button? that's a crying shame. There's no reason why apple needs to make the mouse more complicated than it really is. I'll stick to my cheapo Dell optical mouse that I stole from work. I've had it for a few years now--such that I've worn off the "Dell" logo printed on the surface.
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I don't think so. I've been doing the lift-one-finger-while-clicking-with-the-other routine for as long as I can remember. In fact I feel that I can't generate enough leverage with my middle finger (for the right-click) if my index finger keeps resting on the left button. I tried doing that just now and I believe it'll give me trouble if I keep doing it. But that's maybe because of habit! Reply